Use of Self Assessments in Estimating Levels of Skill Retention

New Directions in Rifle Marksmanship Research

“…The average reliability of the slow-fire course for samples drawn from two Army bases was .88 and .84. Schendel, Morey, Granier, and Hall (1983) reported a significant correlation between Army soldiers' self-reported prior record-fire score and actual record-fire score (r = .29, p < .01, n = 121). Smith (2000, Experiment 2) found a correlation of .37 (p < .05, n = 50) between the prior year's record-fire score and the current year's record-fire score for U.S. Army Reserve soldiers.…”

“…Another important variable found to be related to shooting performance is experience with weapons and prior record-fire perfor- Rifle steadiness (Humphreys, Buxton, & Taylor, 1936) .72 43 Rifle steadiness (McGuigan & MacCaslin, 1955) .22 148 Rifle steadiness (Spaeth & Dunham, 1921) .61 73 Prior shooting experience and aptitude (MacCaslin & McGuigan, 1956) R = .67-.72 Prior shooting experience (Tierney, Cartner, & Thompson, 1979), males .24 Prior shooting experience (Tierney et al, 1979), females .19 Prior hunting experience (Tierney et al, 1979), males .21 Prior experience with a .22 rifle (Thompson, Smith, Morey, & Osborne, 1980), males .21-.25 Prior record-fire performance (McGuigan & MacCaslin, 1955), repeated qualification course 3 times .88, .84 Self-reported prior record-fire performance (Schendel, Morey, Granier, & Hall, 1983) .29 121 Prior record-fire performance (Smith, 2000, Experiment 2) .37 50 Prior record-fire performance (Thompson, Morey, Smith, & Osborne, 1981) 388 Weaponeer device-fire (Schendel et al, 1985, Experiment 1) .37-.74 102 Weaponeer device-fire (Schendel et al, 1985, Experiment 2) .17-.55 244 Combat Training Theater device-fire (Marcus & Hughes, 1979) Low Laser Marksmanship Training System device-fire (Smith & Hagman, 2000) .55 95 Laser Marksmanship Training System device-fire (Smith & Hagman, 2003, Study 1) .50 110 Laser Marksmanship Training System device-fire (Smith & Hagman, 2003, Study 2) .55 76 Engagement Skills Trainer device-fire (Hagman, 1998) .68 102 Other device-fire (Torre et al, 1987) .54 29 Cognitive ASVAB clerical/administrative (Carey, 1990) .26 a ASVAB general technician (Carey, 1990) .35 a ASVAB electrical repair (Carey, 1990) .32 a ASVAB mechanical maintenance (Carey, 1990) .38 a ASVAB composite (Carey, 1990) .32 a Infantry training GPA (Carey, 1990) .25 a Core job knowledge (Carey, 1990) .31 a Supervisor ratings (Carey, 1990) .16 a Skill Qualification Test, a measure of a soldier's skill achievement …”

“…Self-reported nervousness (Tierney et al, 1979) -.19 Predicted record-fire score for soldiers whose confidence estimates in their prediction were > 90% (Schendel et al, 1983) .50 41…”

An Approach to Evaluating Distance Learning Events

“…Another general finding in the self-assessment literature, one that has been the basis of criticism, is that self-assessments tend to consistently overestimate actual performance (i.e. Schendel et. al., 1983;Anderson, Warner, and Spencer, 1984).…”